William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

September 27, 2013

Back on Wednesday, Chrysler announced that they were temporarily laying-off 500 workers from the second shift at their Toledo, Ohio plant because the company had built enough Jeep Cherokees for the launch in the fall. It was only later that we learned that Chrysler is still having problems with the Cherokee's nine-speed automatic transmission. Now Chrysler is reversing their decision to layoff workers.

Automotive News is reporting that Chrysler will bring back the second shift next Monday to building Cherokees again. In a statement, Chrysler revealed that engineers are hard at work on software patches to help smooth the interaction of the engines, transmission and disconnecting drivetrain in the Cherokee.

"As we continue to refine the vehicle's powertrain software, we are implementing a plan that will allow us to make the required updates more quickly than anticipated, thereby making additional layoffs unnecessary at this time," said Chrysler Spokeswoman Jodi Tinson.

However with engineers working on patches, the Cherokee's on-sale date of the fall will be missed. Chrysler isn't giving a possible date as to when the Cherokee will be at dealer lots.

"This is the world's first application of a highly technical nine-speed transmission; on top of that, it is being mated to two new engines and three complex 4x4 systems. As our senior management has stated many times before, we will only introduce a vehicle to consumers when we are completely satisfied," said Tinson.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at william.maley@cheersandgears.com or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.